Suspected Drunken Driver Kills San Bernardino Police Officer

A San Bernardino police officer died early Thursday morning after his police cruiser was broadsided by a suspected drunken driver who ran a red light.

Officer Bryce Hanes, 40, a Redlands resident and married father of three children under the age of 12, was officially pronounced dead at Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center, according to The Press-Enterprise, where he was taken after the crash.

Hanes had just delivered an inmate to the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga and was reportedly driving south on Etiwanda Avenue approaching Fourth Street, according to The Press-Enterprise.

The officer’s cruiser was broadsided on the passenger side, say police, at the intersection of Etiwanda and Fourth by a 27-year-old Fontana man who drove through a red light as he was traveling east on Fourth, sending Hanes’ vehicle into a power pole.

“Bryce was one of those guys that came to work every day with a great attitude,” San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said. “He got along with all of his coworkers and really loved his job.”

Hanes had worked in patrol all of his 12 years, the majority on the overnight shift. The crash occurred close to the start of his shift around 2 a.m., according to the San Bernardino Sun.

Said Burguan, who had worked with Hanes as graveyard shift sergeant, “He literally has been an exemplary officer for this city.”

The 27-year-old driver, whose name has not been released, was hospitalized with minor injuries. Once released, the 27-year-old who was driving a 2008 Dodge Charger will be booked on suspicion of felony DUI, according to Ontario police, who are investigating the crash.

The last fatal on-duty crash that killed a San Bernardino police officer was in 2000.

Hanes’ brother was also in law enforcement, last serving as a San Bernardino police detective until he recently retired from the department.